The present invention relates to apparatus and method for driving a ram coaxially toward a work piece supported in a stationary position, and more particularly, to apparatus and method for driving a glide or the like into the free end of a chair leg.
Many styles of chair used in cafeterias, schools, and similar institutions, are constructed by joining a molded plastic shell having a seat portion and a back portion, to a leg assembly having a base portion for rigid attachment to the seat and four tubular legs extending from the base portion. Typically, glide members casters or the like are secured to the free ends of the chair legs, usually by an interference friction fit.
Conventionally, such gliders or casters have been installed manually, for example by initially aligning the guide member with the opening at the free end of the leg and tapping it into a first position with the hand or a mallet, and once the member has been aligned, driving it home with the mallet or with an automatic or semi-automatic ram. In any event, such conventional installation of the guides has been performed serially, i.e., one leg at a time, by a single operator.
Thus, conventionally, the installation of glides on chair legs has been very labor intensive and rather slow, due to the care required to align the glider, and the number of separate manual motions required to complete the installation of a single glide.